Surplice Fees (German, <em>Stolgebühren</em>) are the fees which had to be paid to the clergy of the state church for the official services rendered. In [[Prussia|Prussia]] the Mennonites were obliged to pay them for weddings and funerals, without having claimed the services of the clergy. After tedious negotiations and all sorts of legal arrangements (edict of 30 July 1789, Mennonite Law of 12 June 1874, and the decision of the imperial court of 8 October 1885) a permanent release from these payments was secured in relatively recent times.

Surplice Fees (German, <em>Stolgebühren</em>) are the fees which had to be paid to the clergy of the state church for the official services rendered. In [[Prussia|Prussia]] the Mennonites were obliged to pay them for weddings and funerals, without having claimed the services of the clergy. After tedious negotiations and all sorts of legal arrangements (edict of 30 July 1789, Mennonite Law of 12 June 1874, and the decision of the imperial court of 8 October 1885) a permanent release from these payments was secured in relatively recent times.

Revision as of 19:35, 20 August 2013

Surplice Fees (German, Stolgebühren) are the fees which had to be paid to the clergy of the state church for the official services rendered. In Prussia the Mennonites were obliged to pay them for weddings and funerals, without having claimed the services of the clergy. After tedious negotiations and all sorts of legal arrangements (edict of 30 July 1789, Mennonite Law of 12 June 1874, and the decision of the imperial court of 8 October 1885) a permanent release from these payments was secured in relatively recent times.